The Single Pay More

The Single Pay More
Walter, C. K.
1974-12-01 00:00:00
Although the old saw that says âtwo can live as cheaply as oneâ is trite and largely untrue, it certainly does appear, however, that two married people can live less expensively than two separate individuals. Single persons who prepare their own meals must buy and cook smaller quantities than someone who serves two or more people. Examples of price differentials are shown in Table 1 where a selection of brand-name canned vegetables is listed with prices, can sizes, unit prices (price per ounce) and ratios of the small size unit price to the large size unit price. As shown in the table, singles paid 35 percent more per ounce for these canned vegetables if they purchased the smaller-sized containers. Or consider the purchase of fresh meat and milk. While an individual might relish a beef roast, even a small roast will be cut to more than two pounds and could become a source of left-overs for longer than is desired. Thus he or she may be more likely to cook a steak, conveniently cut in a single serving. Even a rib steak, however, will cost $2.05 per pound, 47 percent higher than a boneless beef rump roast at
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Abstract

Although the old saw that says âtwo can live as cheaply as oneâ is trite and largely untrue, it certainly does appear, however, that two married people can live less expensively than two separate individuals. Single persons who prepare their own meals must buy and cook smaller quantities than someone who serves two or more people. Examples of price differentials are shown in Table 1 where a selection of brand-name canned vegetables is listed with prices, can sizes, unit prices (price per ounce) and ratios of the small size unit price to the large size unit price. As shown in the table, singles paid 35 percent more per ounce for these canned vegetables if they purchased the smaller-sized containers. Or consider the purchase of fresh meat and milk. While an individual might relish a beef roast, even a small roast will be cut to more than two pounds and could become a source of left-overs for longer than is desired. Thus he or she may be more likely to cook a steak, conveniently cut in a single serving. Even a rib steak, however, will cost $2.05 per pound, 47 percent higher than a boneless beef rump roast at